China builds bigger Buddhas to entice tourists

By Laura Ma, for CNN

Updated 2:12 AM ET, Fri February 7, 2014

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The big Buddha bandwagon – The Grand Buddha at China's Lingshan Park, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, has inspired tourism officials to build at least 10 other large Buddha statues across China. The 88-meter-tall Buddha is made of 725 tonnes of bronze sheet. The park greeted 3.8 million visitors last year, raking in more than RMB 1.2 billion ($194.4 million).

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Leshan Giant Buddha, China – The Leshan Giant Buddha in Mount Emei is part of a UNESCO world heritage site in China's Sichuan province. The 71-meter-high sitting Buddha was carved out of a hillside around 1,200 years ago.

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Spring Temple Buddha, China – Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan county, Henan Province is the world's largest statue at 208 meters tall. The Buddha, which is 128 meters tall, stands on a 20-meter-high lotus, a 25-meter-high pedestal and a second 35-meter pedestal reshaped from the hill it originally stood on.

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Guanyin of the South Sea of Sanya, China – The 108-meter-tall Guanyin on Hainan Island's Sanya has three faces: one facing inland to represent the protection of China, the other two facing the South China Sea to represent blessing the world. It's the fourth largest statue in the world.

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Tian Tan Buddha, Hong Kong – Also known as the Big Buddha, this popular Hong Kong attraction sits across from the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island's mountain. The figure is 26.4 meters tall with a 7.6-meter lotus throne for a total height of 34 meters.

Nihonji Daibatsu, Japan – Located in the city of Kyonan, Chiba Prefecture, Nihonji Daibatsu at Mount Nokogiri is 31 meters high. This effigy of the Buddha of Healing was carved out the mountain in the 1780s.

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Bodhi Tataung, Myanmar – Bodhi Tataung consists of two Buddhas in Monywa, Sagaing Region. Laykyun Setkyar Standing Buddha is a total of 129 meters tall. The 95-meter-long reclining Buddha nearby houses a temple, which has an entrance in the statue's rear end.

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Story highlights

Construction of more than 10 Buddha statues are planned in China this year

China's Spring Temple Buddha is the world's tallest statue at a total of 208 meters high

Leshan Giant Buddha is over 1,200 years old and part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Travelers who get kicks out of posing with huge Buddha statues have 10 more reasons to head to China this year.

The company responsible for Hong Kong's 34-meter-tall Tian Tan Buddha and Hainan's 108-meter-tall Guanyin of the South Sea of Sanya statue plans to throw up 10 more huge Buddha replicas during 2014, according to the Chinese magazine New Weekly (Chinese only).

The new builds have been inspired by the success, and profits, at Lingshan Park in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, which features an 88-meter-tall Buddha statue also built by Aerosun Corporation, and drew 3.8 million visitors last year.

The statue helped earn the park more than RMB 1.2 billion ($194 million) in 2013 according to the South China Morning Post.

Tourism excellence

Of the 408 visitors who reviewed the park on Tripadvisor.com, 205 people rated the attraction as "excellent."

Spiritual and profitable.

"Lingshan tourist center is a great afternoon out, sure there is a lot of captive marketing but after spending that amount of money on such a beautiful place they deserve to make a few RMB out of us," wrote KeefieG from East London, South Africa in November.

Mr Xie X from Dobbstown was more skeptical: "This is a tourist trap if I ever saw one. I mean really, over two hundred RMB to see a statue? And not even any historical relevance," he wrote in his review.

Other big Buddhas

The world's tallest Buddha is also the world's largest statue -- China's Spring Temple Buddha in Lushan County, Henan Province totals 208 meters from the base of its pedestal to the top of its head.

The world's largest stone Buddha -- the 71-meter-high Leshan Giant Buddha -- can be found in Mount Emei Scenic Area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in China's Sichuan Province.